Thursday Night..

.... we headed to Banchetto Forum again because we only had siomai for dinner.  We wanted to try some new food and get some sweets!! :D

Remember Wednesday night, I considered buying kim mari but skipped it?  I gave in to my cravings last night. TADA!!

kim mari

...and I witnessed another kind act again of the Korean lady.  Maybe she found a kid there so cute,  I guess he's the son of the lady minding the stall beside the Korean lady's.  She gave him two Korean snacks.  How sweet!!

 kim mari, jjapchae, kimpap

Can I take them all home?!  These are only some of the Korean food the lady is selling.  They also have bulgogi, spicy pork, little kimchi pizzas, tteokpoki and kimchi!!

Since we planned to try out some new food, the husband bought one Ilocos empanada for us to share!!  I had been hesitant to try this before because I thought it's like the usual empanada that has this thick wrappings.  But look!!!

Special Empanada filled with egg, papaya, monggo & longganisa @ Php50

So thin and crunchy!! I will buy this again when I'm in the mood for empanada.  Unexpectedly, it tasted good especially when eaten with the Ilocos vinegar.

If you want a taste of Ilocos, Glomy's Empanada is not a bad choice.  Flavorful!!  The most expensive they got is Php100 and the price depends on the fillings.

For dessert, we chose to get this chocolate cake with caramel sauce from Medchef.

The chocolate didn't taste too strong & the texture wasn't that smooth.  It tasted like it wasn't pure chocolate and there was something else mixed with it. 

But we're not complaining because the sweetness wouldn't hurt the throat.  The caramel isn't too thick just like the chocolate but the dark chocolate taste is notable.  Will buy this again, yummy and not too sweet!! 

Medchef has a variety of sweets that made me drool!!

cakes!!

3 big squares for Php100!

mango torte

 

    Save them for the next Banchetto visit. :D  I can hardly wait!!

Revisiting Banchetto Forum

Why am I blogging about Banchetto again?!  I just can't stop being so happy about it!! 

Banchetto Forum

 

I and the husband have been revisiting Banchetto Forum in the past weeks to satisfy our cravings for a delicious Wednesday or Thursday dinner.  That is to have a break from the mundanity of our evening meals.  It's hard to think what to cook and eat every evening when we get home from work coz what comes to mind as priority to cook is the lunch baon for the next day.  Robinson's Pioneer is our drop-off point when getting home from work so it's not really easy to ignore the barbecue smoke rising from the Banchetto area. 

Banchetto opened at 8:30 pm last night and most of the stalls weren't open yet.  Fortunately, my two favorite food stalls were already getting ready.  I went around a little bit to wait for them to finally accept orders.  I went to Crepe-Papips first to get our mango banana crepes ....

 ...and proceeded to the Korean food stall.

I was thinking to buy kim mari but thought it was too expensive at Php30 each.  So I opted to buy spicy pork as the husband wanted me to buy something we can eat with rice.  A hefty serving of spicy pork with rice is Php85.  What made my heart jumping more was the jjapchae the Korean lady added into it.  

When the Korean guy (maybe her son) was handing me the plastic bag, the lady gave him something to put inside the plastic bag, strawberry cookies!!!!!!!  

 She was being too kind, the jjapchae and cookies are for free. hehehehe!!

Haha that's the reason why I am blogging about Banchetto again!! It made me so glad last night!  When we are too lazy to cook on Wednesday and Thursday nights, Banchetto is a food heaven.

A New Mushroom Discovery

I was in 8Waves Resort in Ulingao, Bulacan last Saturday to participate in our company's teambuilding.  There were vendors in the area and when we were about to stroll around to kill time, something caught our attention.  One vendor was selling something with free taste.  I, with my teammates tried the bottled one first and at that instant, I already got convinced to buy.  Then the vendor talked us into trying the fried stuff so we did, and it too was indeed delicious!!!

The bottled one was the Pickled Mushrooms.  It's an appetizer like the achara but sweeter and less sour.  Then the other product's the fried mushroom or the Chicharong Kabute!  It is more delicious when eaten with the pickled mushroom.

I didn't need more coaxing to buy, I was instantly persuaded.  I wanted the husband to try them too so I was giddy to bring him some.  We still have the pickles in the fridge but the chicharon was gone in two hours from reaching home. He even made it his pulutan.

When you get to visit 8Waves or Bustos in Bulacan, this is a must-try. :)

Crispy Mushroom & Pickled Mushroom
Mushroom Products by: Jo-Riel
#0865 H.Domingo St., Poblacion, Bustos, Bulacan
leoncio_jocelyn@yahoo.com
+639061786132; (044) 617-7295
 

2 Strikes for Mr. Kimbob

I and the husband had lunch at the Megamall foodcourt last week and since he was missing Mr. Kimbob's Korean food, we chose to eat there.  I've raved about Mr. Kimbob in more than 2 of my blogposts and I really meant those.  But now, let me rant about two things.

The husband ordered the Donkatsu meal and I opted for Jjapchae.

Strike#1.  I was almost done with my jjapchae and the Donkatsu meal wasn't served yet.  I asked him to follow it up because it was unusually taking forever, and we ended up so frustrated.  If he hadn't gone to the counter to follow up, the Donkatsu meal would never be served.  The kitchen people didn't know there was an order for the Donkatsu meal and they didn't prepare it.  They were dodging blame.

Strike#2.  WORSE.  Maybe we failed to notice this detail before, but just look how thin the meat inside the tonkatsu breading!!  It pissed me off that the breading is three times thicker than the meat.  No wonder the donkatsu doesn't taste good, so ho-hum without the veggies. 

thick right?!

how I wish I have a clearer photo for you to see how thick the breading!!

see how thin the meat is?

look closer!!

Don't get me wrong.  I like how affordable Mr. Kimbob is, I like their meals & definitely I am still going back there.  But now I think I will skip their Donkatsu forever.  Just think twice before you order this meal and make sure your orders get noted in the kitchen.

Nolboo House Restaurant

OK, here comes a post about my favorite Korean restaurant everrrr, Nolboo House or Nolboo Jib in Korean!  My favorite, that eventually became OUR favorite, that's me and the husband.

I discovered this restaurant about 4 years ago.  A friend mentioned it to me after a jogging session along the old Baywalk.  I tried it out, and well got so impressed that until now I keep on coming back.  My Korean friend JinYoung and I used to sate our cravings for Korean food there when he was still studying here in Manila and when he returned to fix some documents, we again dined there and he met the then-boyfriend Melvin who is the husband now. :)

Here're us the night before the husband's 30th birthday!!

Sad, wooden chopsticks, I prefer the old stainless steel ones!!

He prefers to have beer while waiting for the food!

And here they are!!!

Kimchi Stew (김치찌개)

My all-time favorite!!  Nolboo really has the best-tasting kimchi with all flavors blending in so richly and when made to kimchi stew, we can really get teary-eyed from its spiciness and tastefulness!  I swear, they have the best kimchi stew, not to mention the generous slices of tofu and one serve of rice that comes with it!

See that thick slice of tofu?!

The other food we ordered was bibimpap or mixed rice.  This is enough for both of us.  Rice plus the sautéed vegetables and egg can make the stomach bag nearly full.

Bibimbap (비빔밥)

As the name indicates, it should be mixed before eating.

I'm always the one doing it.  Put in the pepper paste and mix!!

The rest of the food are the free appetizers that are served before the main menus.  I wasn't able to take photos of each so my apologies if all cannot be seen closely.  The next time we dine there, maybe July, I'll make sure I have a pic of each of the appetizer.  But prolly not the same appetizers as in our previous visit because they usually change once in a while.

 

I get so thankful when they have tofu included!!

steamed okra.

Kimchi!! (김치) 

On one visit with JinYoung, they served us 2 kinds of kimchi.  One which was newly made and one that has already stayed in the refrigerator for a long time and is already good for making kimchi stew! 

Here's all of them.  Even with only two main orders, we were already soooo full and satisfied.  I haven't mentioned, the appetizers are refillable. *wink*

All these for roughly Php 550.  I can't remember exactly how much the kimchi stew is,  it's Php250-Php300 I guess, and the bibimbap is Php250.  I hope Nolboo hasn't changed the prices because they're really reasonable for this amount of food!

That's I and the man I have influenced into eating Korean food, especially the not-so-nice-smelling kimchi.

  BURP!

The food that we have tried is limited to only a few dishes that are cheaper and good for two people.  I sometimes order the same food I ordered in the previouse visits, why?!  Oh because I don't get tired of eating my favorites especially that they are so delicious!!

This place is quite famous to Koreans.  It gets more packed when the evening is getting late. The staff  is so accommodating and friendly unlike in YeDang, another Korean resto we tried but definitely not worth our comeback.  Will post about it soon!!

my VIP card.

We miss Nolboo.  If only it was nearer we would come so often.  It is located along Roxas Blvd, just before the right turn to Gil Puyat Avenue.  When you are near the area, and you love Korean food, there's no sense wasting time. :p

The Great ARIAKE!!

The husband and I spent the first Saturday of the birthday month in an ocean adventure where I met and shed some tears over the cute sea lions, Icys and Isabel.  For the second Saturday, we decided to do what we love the most, EAT!!  Lucky I was able to steal a deal in the bulk buying website CleverBuy (thank the heavens for bulk buying!!!).

We headed to Tomas Morato in Quezon City to have a taste of  the Japanese food Ariake Restaurant is offering.  It had been a while since our last gastronomic adventure so I was quite giddy but not so expectant.  I didn't expect a lot from the resto.  Not seeing much reviews led me to the assumption that not a lot of people dine at the place and rave about their experience. 

the entrance

We were the first guests who came so I savored the freedom of walking around and taking photos.

waiting...

 three tables with cushioned benches...

the table beside ours... pretty arrangement!!


to the restrooms.

the jar guards the restroom door...

closer look of the sushi bar... and that's Drew sitting!!

After some waiting, the food came and I had to put the camera down.  I totally failed to brace myself for what I called the "Ariake love" at first bite!!!  The love came without warning.

ok he's excited to eat!

The husband, while chewing his first makizushi, made his "oh-this-is-so-yummazing" face with closed eyes.  I always know when he finds the food delicious, because he makes that face...and this time, he even yummy-cussed!! After taking some photos I joined him in the feast, and indeed, the food was really namit!!

Let's have a closer look to the dishes that were included in the deal.

Special Makizushi Deluxe - 5 kinds!

They have the best maki sauce!  I had to ask for some when we took the leftover food out.  What we thought was Japanese Mayo was actually their home-made maki sauce according to Drew.  He gave us some to take home!

Yakitori  

We took home what was left of this too and gave my sister some.  As she put it, the barbecue sauce was perfect!!! True.  6 sticks of this perfectly-sauced meat!

Yakiudon

I'm not a big fan of pancit but I loved their yakiudon...the taste of the pancit alone was flavorful already, and the addition of seafood, mixed veggies and meat makes this yakiudon just worth raving about.

 

Mixed Seafood Tempura

These tempuras were really more than good, the breading wasn't nakakaumay.  Even when we deepfried them again the next day, super yummy still!  They included some vegetables though.  Squash, sweet potatoes and eggplant wrapped in the breadings.

And behold, our favorite, the most mouth-watering seafood dumplings!! ..very well presented... they look really succulent here ha and they indeed were!  The next day, they still looked and tasted as they did that evening.

approved!!

really enjoying!!

coffee jelly with vanilla ice cream for dessert!

The food was good for 4-6 people.  Sad that my sis wasn't able to come with us, she would have enjoyed the food too!  How much it cost us? Only Php 867 for food worth Php 2,015!!  We took home what was left of our food, and they packed them really neatly in styros.  The coffee jelly we brought out were also put in nice cups that we were able to hold comfortably while walking towards EDSA.

Aside from the food, there are more reasons for me to go back.  I really did wow silently when we entered the place.  

Ariake is on the second floor and what will welcome you on the ground floor are these beautiful flowers, arranged attractively at the entrance.

The place is really good for laid-back conversations.  It was quiet and had this spa-like smell and ambience.  I hardly smelled the food. The experience was very relaxing I would want to stay longer than 3 hours when we have the chance to dine here again.

The place is impressively neat. Even the restroom smelled so good and very clean it made me stay longer than needed to take silly photos of me in the mirror.   And the service...exceptional!!  The crew were very friendly and smiling, very eager to serve, hi Drew!

Two-thumbs up for Ariake.  I loved the experience!